Lahore School of Economics

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A Lahore School of Economics delegation headed by Rector Dr. Shahid Amjad Chaudhry and consisting of senior faculty attended the 4th Deans and Directors Conference hosted by National Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC) of Higher Education Commission (HEC) on February 7-8, 2017 in Islamabad, Pakistan. A large number of Pakistani business schools, including those from distant areas, were present. The conference was addressed by Chairman HEC, as well as by Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal and former CEO Engro Fertilizer Asad Umer. Professor Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform, gave a keynote speech and expressed satisfaction at the economic growth of Pakistan.

Various speakers explained the importance of CPEC for Pakistan’s economy and stressed that it was a win-win situation for both countries. Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, Chairman Parliamentary Committee on CPEC, put CPEC in the context of global and regional politics while Dr. Nadeem Javaid, Chief Economist of Pakistan added facts and figures to the economic scenario. Discussions ranged from how to improve standards of business education, how to re-organize business schools syllabi, how to balance rigor in research with relevance to Pakistan to how to accredit Pakistani business schools to NBEAC.

The delegation from Lahore School included Dr. Inayat Ullah Mangla, Professor Fareed F. Fareedy, Dr. Aamir Khan, Dr. Kumail Abbas Rizvi, Dr. Zahid Riaz and Mr. Saad Shahid. Dr. Kumail in collaboration with Dr. Zaki Rashidi conducted a training session for various Pakistani business schools on how to apply and get accredited by NBEAC.

The participants agreed that the Conference provided a unique opportunity for strategic networking amongst business schools across Pakistan as well as a very useful platform to meet both challenges and opportunities in Pakistan because of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).